Qatar 2022: Covid-19 sees China’s World Cup qualifiers moved to Dubai, say Chinese FA
- Group A games moved from Suzhou after infections in Maldives and Syria squads prevent them from entering China
- Chinese FA announces decision taken in tandem with AFC, though Asian body says no new neutral venue announced
“In view of the recent outbreak of infection in the Maldives and Syria national football teams, according to the relevant provisions of China on the prevention and control of infectious disease among inbound personnel, the entry of the Maldivian and Syrian teams to participate in the competition need to be strictly isolated and cannot participate as scheduled,” the CFA said in a statement.
“Based on the AFC’s recommendation, the Chinese Football Association agreed, it has been decided that the 2022 Qatar Fifa World Cup and AFC Asian Cup 2023 joint-qualifier second stage group A will not take place in Suzhou and is transferred to Dubai, United Arab Emirates.”
However, the AFC posted their own statement later to say that no new venue had been decided.
“The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has today decided to move the remaining centralised Group A matches of the Asian Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and AFC Asian Cup China 2023 from China PR to a neutral venue, which will be decided and announced in the coming days,” it said.